Education

Essay Writing Tips to Help You Rock Finals Week

Portrait of a student learning on line with headphones and laptop taking notes in a notebook sitting at her desk at home

As a college student, you know the double-edged sword of being excited for the semester to end, yet anticipating the stress of final exams.

As you prepare for final exams, you want to be prepared for whatever exams your professor throws your way. Often that means a litany of final papers to prepare.

Read on for some essay writing tips to make your final exam season a big success.

  • Make a Plan

Before you even begin to prepare or even write, it’s important to make a plan. You want to look ahead to what your final exam expectations will be.

Will you be able to do your final papers independently and then submit them? Will you have to write them in a timed setting? What kind of time will you need to block out to make sure you are prepared?

  • Make Sure You Know What’s Expected

The first key to success in any writing assignment is understanding what is expected of you as a writer. Look at your syllabus or assignment and make sure you have a firm grasp on what the professor is asking from you in your writing.

  • Gather Research

The next part of a good essay is good research. You want to be a knowledgeable writer. Take the time needed to gather and read your research. Here is where the SEO and keywords of your research will pay off, so use them well. Start to organize what research you want to use in your writing. Make a plan for how you will use the research to support your thinking.

  • Manage Your Citations

At the same time you are researching, you want to keep track of your sources using a citation manager. You certainly don’t want to use a source and not cite it. It’s also frustrating to go back search again for a source you need to cite.

You can add an extension right to your computer browser that will allow you to keep track of your research sources as you gather from them.

  • Create an Outline

For beginners, one of the best things they can do as a writer is to create an outline before they ever actually start writing. It works like a guide, a roadmap of sorts, for your writing.

Think about what support or evidence you want to put in your paper and how you will organize that information.

  • Power Through the Writing

This might seem obvious but sometimes it’s necessary to just put your fingers on the keyboard and get writing.  If you have planned and researched, it’s time to write.

You can even set a timer and force yourself to write until your timer goes off. Sometimes the hardest part of any paper is actually starting. Once you get past that hurdle, you can really make quick and productive progress.

  1. Proofread, Proofread, Proofread

It’s one thing to power through the writing, now you need to make sure your writing says what you intended. Make sure you allow time in your plan for careful proofreading. Then you can do the necessary revision and editing so you can turn in a fully polished paper.

Use These Essay Writing Tips for Success on Your Finals

Use these essay writing tips to power through your final exam papers. By making a plan and having good research, you are sure to write a highly successful paper.

For more writing tips and advice, be sure to visit our page often.